County of Longsword
A staunch ally of Hellquill, the small County of Longsword has weathered many assaults from the Riverponies, but they've stood together against the tide, as battle-brothers in their separate Knightly Orders. But since they've gained their independence from the Empire, Longsword has enjoyed relative stability until Count Pallas Dusktalon invited members of the Reformisten, a radical group from Hellquill, for assistance against the ponies. Slowly, they've gained power across the entire nation, and now they've begun the cleansing of Longswordian lands from anyone deemed impure, especially ponies... Lore Grover II's ascension Longsword is a relatively young nation compared to some of its other imperial counterparts. In 785 ALB, only a few days after the passing of Emperor Grover I of the , the regional power of the east, , would mount an invasion on . While this attack would be repelled by the griffons, it set off a chain reaction, as the new Emperor Grover II had not been blessed by the Idol of Boreas, which meant he now ruled a vast empire with vassals only nominally under his ruler, many eager to challenge it. This, combined with the fact that he would be completely enraged by this act of aggression by the eastern pony states, and years later around 800 ALB, he would begin a massive offensive into the pony lands in retaliation. Invasion of the Riverlands He gathered the knightly Orders of and to support him on this so-called "Crusade". In reality, calling this a crusade was a political move in order to justify these actions, and in truth, they were full scale military operations lead by the . The crusades were partially successful, as the collapse of the empire was prevented, and some pony territories were annexed into the imperial lands. However, their most ambitious goal - shattering the Riverlands, failed. Grover II met his end at the end of a spear in 854 ALB. In addition, his Crusades and following griffon raids motivated the Riverlands to eventually sign the Treaty of Coltstream, a common defense pact amongst pony lands. His peaceful successor Grover III showed no interest in continuing the Crusades against the ponies. Formation of the Knightly orders Before Grover II's death however, the Knightly Orders of and would be incorporated into the Empire as Marches, and were granted some of the lands from the Riverponies. Both of these orders would swear an oath to Grover II that they and their successors would do everything in their might to fight the pony menace, and that they would never have a reason to fear their loyalty. The crusades would continue for many years, and both Longsword and Hellquill would come to occupy and later, incorporate a sizeable chunk of pony land. Later on, after the crusades had officially ended, both orders would still commence in raids going back and forth between them and the Riverponies. While the Knights of Hellquill managed to make some breakthroughs and notable advances into the Riverlands, Longsword never had such fortune, and as a result, would occupy a smaller amount of land than their northern brothers. At first, conquered lands would be followed by massive griffon settlement, but later on ponies would be allowed to be left in peace, provided they disarmed, kept to their self running communities and provided taxes to their griffon overlords. Both orders continued to serve faithfully for many years, however, the empire has grown weak and decadent, plagued by greed, internal affairs, and constantly growing corruption. After years of raiding and protecting against the ponies time and time again, after the coronation of Grover V in 979, the orders refused to renew their oaths to the Emperor, promptly ending their service to the Empire. The Grand Vision from the North After their separation from the Empire, no longer burdened by their loyalty to a foreign nation, Longsword enjoyed relative stability under the rule of the noble counts of the Dusktalon family. Not long after they declared independence, Pallas Dusktalon would assume the role of the Count of Longsword, and at first, he was completely content with keeping the traditions in place, as had the others before him. However, all of this changed when he heard of the rapidly growing ideology in . This radical group, calling themselves the Reformisten, 'believed in griffon supremacy overall, holding the ponies as the mortal enemy of all of griffonkind, and blaming them as the sole reason of all their problems. Their plan was to make Hellquill into what they call a "Proper state", with their leader, Wingfried von Katerinburg at its helm, and to create more "Living place" for griffons, at the expense of ponykind. These radical ideas interested the Count, and he would proceed to invite a bunch of their supporters into his government, and to teach him of their ideas. Over time, this radical ideology of racial supremacy and hatred took root in Dusktalon's heart, and he would begin to implement the policies the Reformisten had in mind, which would then spiral into a bloodbath against ponykind, which to outsiders would be known as the "Longswordian Genocide". Fortunately, not all were simply willing to sit by and let these atrocities happen. A group of partisans, lead by Starry Night, dreamed of a communist state, where both griffons and ponies would be equal. While they have been actively sabotaging the Reformisten efforts at purifying the country, during these few recent years, the Count's efforts to cleanse the nation have intensified, and now the ponies are facing a very real threat of complete annihilation. The Partisans must either step up their efforts, or be eradicated. But the pony minorities are not the only ones to oppose these crimes. General Silvertalon and the army as a whole are extremely skeptical of the Count's plans. While they don't share any real love for the ponies, they understand that slaughtering them will lead to nothing but pointless death and suffering, and overall ruin for the entire nation. As such, they have agreed to try one last time to talk some sense into Dusktalon, in order to stop this madness. However, should these attempts be in vain, they might have no choice but to openly oppose the Reformisten regime. Modern Age The future of the country is uncertain at best. The Count and his Reformisten lackeys are purging the populace in order to achieve what they view as "purity". Partisans are fighting this mad regime, and the army is getting anxious. Meanwhile, outside forces look at the nation as an easy pathway for expansion. Only one thing is certain: One side must win over Longsword quickly, whatever the cost... Starting Situation Longsword starts in a weak position, with only a few meagre factories and horrible debuffs. Surrounded by enemies and with no allies, Longsword must either struggle to survive, or perish. Longsword starts with 3 fully equipped 12 width regular infantry divisions (recon Companies are included), using a total of 19.50K griffonpower, with a reserve of 10.04K griffonpower. Threats and Opportunities - Since Longsword is located between the and the riverponies, Lake City will most of the time attack you to get to them. They will always attempt an invasion if under The Grand Prince or Westerly, and under Wavebreaker if the focus ''Intervening Within Griffon Affairs has been selected. Note that if they are part of the Federation, they may call all the member states in, making the war extremely difficult. - Should the Harmonist/Non-aligned have prevailed in the republic, if the focus Operation: Magic Star has been taken, they will have decisions to stage coups in both you and Hellquill. - Your northern neighbor, Hellquill is closely affiliated with you, as they are a fellow Order and an ex-border march of the empire, sharing similar traditions. After the civil war in Longsword has ended, they will always attempt to integrate Longsword, which will usually result in a war if the offer is refused. Since they start the game with better industry, army and bonuses, and since you will still be recovering from the Civil war, the war might be difficult. You will have a focus to get a war goal on them yourself once the civil war is over. - Should the Non-aligned have prevailed in the Civil war, you will have an option to ask for protection, and if accepted, will restore you into an Imperial border march. This will allow you to defend and wage war against the ponies much easier than alone. - Under Heidenreich, you will be able to form an alliance with them, if they are fascist or non-aligned. - Under Heidenreich, you will get an annex war goal on them. Gameplay Mechanics The Socialist Republic of Longsword, while a pony nation with pony racial technology, will have access to both griffon knights and all unique pony units, making it possible to have their entire army consist of very powerful divisions. Longsword under Rosa will be able to conduct raids on its neighbors, and get loot if the raid is a success. Both sides will have a small skirmish of around 6 troops per side. The loot can be used for various things, such as stability, griffonpower or civilian factories. National Focus As the Count continues forward with this insanity, everyone must prepare to fight for what they believe in... '''Preparation Since tensions are rapidly rising, every side will attempt to achieve their goals quickly. The Communist Partisans will form a secret government, and attempt to actively sabotage the Reformisten efforts. The Army will at first try to reconcile with the Count, but since their efforts are in vain, they will attempt to get support from the Heartlands, and will soon start an open resistance. Meanwhile, the Reformisten will continue onwards with their plans, despite the minor setbacks. Note that all debuffs received during this stage of the tree will only affect the Reformisten side during the civil war. Civil War During the civil war, every faction will have focuses which give various different bonuses, such as equipment, divisions or factories. The Communist - Partisans The communist start off with the most troops available of 5-7 divisions, and have a focus to spawn three militia as well. They have no industry at the war start, but compensate for this with their relatively large army and their decent ponypower pool. They also receive 5% more war support than the other factions. The best strategy for them is the opposite of the fascist: to overwhelm the enemy sides and encircle them. This usually allows to quickly push the fascist into an uncomfortable position between the Partisans and the Army. The Non-aligned - Army The Non-aligned start off with a moderate army of around 5-6 divisions, and will have a focus to get two reserve units. While they may have fewer units overall, they make up for this by having better divisions than the other two factions, all of them decently equipped. You will have the best generals out of all the factions. They are also the only faction which is given artillery, and unlike the partisans, they have 1 civilian factory at the start of the war. This side has no defined strategy for them, as they have enough divisions for an attack, but still mostly defend from the aggressive southern partisans. The Fascist - Reformisten The fascists start off with the weakest armed forces of around 3-4 divisions, this is offset by the fact that they are the only faction with any real industry at the start of the war. They are also the ones to receive the largest amount of raw griffonpower from their focuses. Playing defensively at the start is almost a requirement, as they simply lack a sufficiently big enough army to partake in any offensive operations. They will get three Militia divisions, which will help to overcome this weakness. Civil war - Comparison table Below are the bonuses received from these trees. Note that these are only the bonuses given from the Civil war focus trees. Aftermath The nation lies in ruins, and it is the duty of the winner to rebuild it. Communist Path - End of The Liberation With the Reformisten lunatics gone, and the rest of Silvertalon's army standing down, Starry Night and her supporters can now begin to rebuild the nation. First matter at hoof is to decide upon the location of the new capital: Swordsson, the previous capital, Zeltstadt, or Visaginas, the birthplace of the revolution in Longsword. The chosen capital will be renamed Starrygrad. They will attempt to create a tolerant state, where both ponies and griffons are accepted as citizens. Their policies will include universal healthcare, education, and overall industrialisation and modernisation. They also have a large military tree, which gives a large amount of different equipment, recruitable population and a wide array of different bonuses, depending on what has been chosen. Notably, they also have the focus The Starry Line which will fortify the entire northern border with . This path mainly benefits from the large amount of different one-off research reductions and the large amount of various equipment received from focuses. Non-aligned Path - Restoration of Order With Dusktalon gone and the Partisans' surrender, Silvertalon and his army can now start to rebuild the nation. Zeltstadt will become the new capital of Longsword. One of their first policies is to educate the population and to help the poor through various welfare programs. They will also attempt to increase their armed forces rapidly, in order to ensure that monsters like the Reformisten never take root in Longsword again. Though not quite as liberal as the communist, ponies will still be given proper rights, invited into the government and possibly into the military as well, if the option has been taken. Gun laws will be loosened, so that every lawful citizen will be able to defend themselves. They will later on have the decision to become 's border march, which will make them into an Imperial vassal. The main benefits of this path are the large amounts of raw griffonpower received and a big boost to recruitable population, as well as the extra research slot at the end of the military tree. Fascist path - Your Eternal Reward With the rebellious Silvertalon and his supporters dealt with, and the Partisans crushed, Count Pallas Dusktalon will have officially completed his holy quest in Longsword. All ponies have been completely eradicated, all traitors dealt with, and as such, Longsword has effectively been purified. But the nation has paid the price. Thousands are homeless. Roads and houses, since long gone. Still, no glory has been won. And even the Reformisten supporters are having doubts if this was all worth it. But one such has more doubt than any other. Rosa Heidenreich, general and the Count's most trusted advisor, has been left completely broken by this pointless war. And now, she has received her new orders: to deliver the news of success to their main benefactors in Hellquill. The future of the nation lies in her claws... Deliver the Letter Rosa will put aside her doubts, and follow her orders. Once the letter has been sent to Katerinburg, Longsword will be annexed and integrated into (This will change your nation to Hellquill, so you can continue the Crusade against the ponies). Rosa Heidenreich will become a general in Hellquill, while Pallas Dusktalon is assigned to the most remote outpost. Note that this option can only be taken if Hellquill is also fascist. Heidenreich's Takeover Rosa will storm the Count's office with her supporters, and murder Dusktalon in cold blood. The nation will fall into complete anarchy, with Reformisten supporters turning on each other, slaughtering everyone left and right. This will continue until Rosa proclaims herself to be the leader of this newly formed bandit nation. Since Longsword is no longer a traditional state, they will be able to deal with things in a rather unorthodox way. Such things include: enslaving everyone who is illiterate, gradually leaving the only real citizens remaining to be forced into reading. Dealing with poverty by "suggesting" all those unwilling to work to go run the factories. And by getting new, capable officers by holding shooting competitions on civilians... Rosa will also take interest in , specifically, the leader of it, Eriviar Sunstriker. Through their relationship and later, a possible marriage, they will be able to form an alliance between these two bandit states. Though they don't get a war goal on like the other two paths, they compensate for this by getting an annex war goal on , which will open up more neighbors for raiding. This path notably gives a large amount of both civilian and military factories, new generals and the ability to raid neighbors. They will also get a focus Organ Donors, which grants them a free pile of loot every six months. Post civil war - Comparison table Below are the bonuses received from each political tree. Since some parts are mutually exclusive, they are marked with L (left) or R (right). Because a communist decision gives a choice between two national spirits with different bonuses, those will be marked with STA (State-controlled Unions) or AUT (Autonomous Unions). Technology Politics National Spirits Leaders Staff and Designers Political Advisors Tank Designer Ship Designer Aircraft Designer Materiel Designer Industrial Concern Theorist Chief of Army Chief of Navy Chief of Airforce Military High Command Economy Laws and Development Industry and Resources *All values are the amounts extracted INCLUDING effects of negative Industrial Ideas (agrarian society, etc) and National Spirits. ru:Графство Лонгсворд Category:Countries